Infiltrator Mage
Infiltrator Mage OCC (By James Bigglesworth) “They’re big and slow, we are small and mobile. We can hide where they cannot. Capture their weapons and use them against them. That way they’re supplying us. We grow stronger even as they grow weaker.” Colonel Eduardo “Eddie” Lopez, Commander, Special Operations Group, Lazlo Armed Forces Infiltrator Mages, as the name implies, are mages that excel at slipping behind enemy lines, penetrating high security facilities, conducting their mission and exfiltrating all without being detected. Like the Combat Mage, they are far from the stereotype of a sorcerer scholar, concerned only with delving into the mysteries of magic. These are highly trained soldiers, on par with the Special Forces of any nation on the planet, from the vaunted Special Forces of the Coalition States to the SEALs of the New Navy. The only difference between them and those other elite troops is that the practical use of magic has been incorporated into their training. Candidates to become Infiltrator Mages are selected from the ranks of those training to become Combat Mages. The candidates noted for possessing a high degree of initiative, intelligence and motivation, are selected for this advanced program. There they learn the skills needed to perform their function as part of the Special Operations Group of the Lazlo Armed Forces. Infiltrator Mages are what Lazlo uses to conduct any number of “black ops”; Assassination, Counter Assassination, Sabotage, Espionage, all this and more. They accomplish these feats through a combination of intense training, advanced Techno-Wizardry and their own spell casting abilities. Since Infiltrator Mages are expected to operate behind enemy lines, they are provided with the training needed to make use of the enemy’s own equipment. This reduces their dependency on logistical support from Lazlo, which as a matter of practicality, would be difficult, if not impossible to reach them. As they so recently demonstrated, the Coalition States, under the leadership of the Prosek family, are perhaps the most dangerous threat to Lazlo and all other magic using communities on the North American continent. Since operating within the territory of the Coalition States means the high probability, if not certainty, of encountering Psi-Stalkers, Dogboys and other psychics, the Infiltrators are masters at hiding their true nature. Through the use of cloaking and metamorphosis spells and their specialized training, they can alter or even suppress their auras, rendering them indistinguishable from ordinary, non-magic using beings. The Infiltrators were never conceived as being for use strictly against the Coalition however. Their ability to disguise themselves and function independently within hostile borders makes them highly valuable against any threat or potential threat to Lazlo, from Free Quebec to the Federation of Magic. Infiltrators use a variety of different methods and spells to conceal themselves. They are masters of blending into whatever environment they find themselves in, whether it is the Burbs of one of the Coalition fortress cities or wilds of the forests beyond the Eastern Wall. They accomplish this through careful study prior to being assigned their mission, memorizing every aspect about the area they will operate in. While on mission they use spells such as Shadow Meld, Invisibility and Metamorphosis to elude detection and blend into their surroundings. Like the Combat Mage, Infiltrators are not masters of spell magic and never learn any ritual magic. They haven’t the slightest desire to learn about the intricacies of advanced magic theory and so leave such things to the more traditional mages like the Ley-Line Walker and Shifter. As a result, they are incapable of learning magic above level ten. The only way for them to cast spells of eleventh or higher level, would be to have it built into a Techno-Wizard device or handed to them as a scroll or talisman. Also like the Combat Mage, their spell training is so specialized that the spells under their purview are cast at reduced cost while all others cost them more PPE to cast. 1. Initial Spell Knowledge at Level One: Farseeing (3), Mystic Marksmanship (5), Eavesdrop (10), Stealthwalk (10), Erase Trail (16), Invisibility to Sensors (20), Mystic Invisibility (25), Reduce Self (20), Mask of Deceit (15), Cloak of Darkness (6), Escape (8), Spy Eye (25) In addition to the spells listed above, the level one Infiltrator Mage can one spell from level one, two and three from either the Combat Spell list or the General Invocation list, for a total of three additional spells. 2. Learning New Spells: All new spells must be learned, purchased or acquired as per usual. The only restriction is that they can never learn a spell beyond level ten. 3. PPE: Like all other mages, an Infiltrator is a living battery of PPE. Permanent Base PPE: 2D4x10+40, plus the character’s PE at level one. 1D4+8 PPE is gained with each additional level of experience. Supplemental PPE: Unlike the more scholarly mages, such as the Ley-Line Walker or Shifter, the Infiltrator isn’t skilled enough to syphon PPE from living beings whether that be from a ritual or blood sacrifice. However they can draw upon the extra PPE available from Ley-Lines and Nexus Points as per normal. PPE can also be gained from Talismans and PPE batteries. PPE Recovery: Expended PPE recovers at the rate of five points per hour of sleep or rest, ten points per hour of meditation. Each hour of meditation is the equivalent of one hour of sleep in terms of rest. 4. Modified Spell Casting Cost: Infiltrator Mages cast Illusion, Disguise, Metamorphosis and similar spells that involve stealth at half the PPE cost. Combat spells are cast at normal cost and all other cost double the amount of PPE. 5. Infiltrator Mage Special Abilities Aura Masking or Alteration Part of the intensive training program to create Infiltrator Mages includes spending hours learning to sense and control their own auras. This control allows them to mask their high PPE base from those that are sensitive to such things, like Psi-Stalkers and Dogboys. They can even temporarily alter their aura so as to make it appear like a D-Bee’s rather than a humans’. Those Infiltrator Mages that are D-Bees can use this technique take make their aura appear human. Alter and Mask Aura Range: Self Duration: One hour per level of experience PPE: 3 Saving Throw: None Can alter their aura exactly like the Physical Psionic power of the same name. The only difference is that instead of being fueled by ISP, the Infiltrator Mage has been taught how to use their PPE to achieve the same result. Alternatively, the Infiltrator Mage can entirely suppress, not just alter their aura. This is useful when complete concealment is necessary as suppressing their aura means even if the one trying to find has the ability to sense an aura, they will not be able to locate the Infiltrator Mage by that means. However, while they are focused on suppressing their aura, they are unable to cast spells. Spells that were previously cast and are still running, remain unaffected. 6. Infiltrator Mage Bonuses: +2 on initiative, +1 to strike with magical attacks, +1 to roll with impact, +2 to pull punch, +2 to disarm, +2D6 to SDC, +2 PP or MA, +1 to save vs possession, +1 to save vs curses, +1 to save vs horror factor at levels 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14, +1 to save vs magic at levels 3, 6, 9, and 12, +1 to spell strength at levels 3, 6, 10, and 15 Infiltrator Mage O.C.C. Stats Attribute Requirements: IQ 10, PE 9 and MA 10. A high ME, PP, PS and SPD are helpful but not required. O.C.C. Skills Language: Native Tongue at 96% Language: Other: Two of choice (+15%) Literacy: Native Language (+15%) Literacy: Other (+10%) Climbing: (+10%) General Athletics Computer Operation: (+5%) Intelligence: (+15%) Disguise: (+15%) Impersonation: (+10%) Mathematics: Basic: (+10%) Military Etiquette: (+10%) Pilot: One of choice (+5%) Swimming or Wilderness Survival: (+5%) W.P. Energy Pistol W.P. Energy Rifle W.P. One of choice Hand to Hand: Expert Hand to Hand Expert can be changed to Hand to Hand Commando or Assassin at the cost of one “other” skill O.C.C. Related Skills: Select 6 other skills but at least two must be from Espionage and or Military. Select two additional skills at level 3, and one at levels 6, 9, and 12. All new skills start at level one proficiency. Communications: Any (+5) Cowboy: None Domestic: Any Electrical: Any Espionage: Any (+10%) Mechanical: Any (+5%) Medical: Paramedic only Military: Any (+5% to Demolitions, Demolitions Disposal, Trap Construction, Trap/Mine Detection and Underwater Demolitions) Physical: Any Pilot: Any Pilot Related: Any Rogue: Any (+5%) Science: Math and Astronomy only (+5%) Technical: Any (+5%) W.P.: Any Wilderness: Any (+5% to Land Navigation) Secondary Skills: The character also gets to select four secondary skills from the previous list. These additional areas of knowledge do not get the advantage of the bonuses listed in the parentheses. All skills are limited (any, only, none) as previously indicated in the list. Standard Equipment: A suit of personalized, light or medium MDC body armor made from non-metallic materials so as to not interfere with spell casting. One weapon for each W.P, with 1D4+2 E-Clips/Magazines for each. One additional TW weapon of choice. Dress uniform, utility coveralls, utility belt/web gear, a set of camouflage clothing, a gas mask and filter, pair of ballistic quality sunglasses or tinted goggles, hatchet (1D6 SDC), knapsack or backpack, pocket mirror, IRMSS or TW equivalent med kit, grappling hook, pair of MDC handcuffs, 50ft of rope. Additional equipment may be assigned on an as needed basis by the Lazlo Special Operations Group. Money: The character starts off with 1D6x1000 credits and has a black market item that will garner another 1D6x1000 credits. Cybernetics: Starts with none and will avoid them unless necessary. Even then they will only get either bio-systems or TW bionics/cybernetics. Experience Table: Same as the Special Forces Soldier, page 29, Rifts Mercenaries.